Look at that smug smile – that could be you, friend.

A number of us in the office have been receiving spam calls from UK numbers these past few weeks, and everyone knows all about those unwanted SMSs that seem to pop up now and again.

These mysterious calls prompted us to do a little digging, and the folks over at Times LIVE are on the same train.

Seth has been telling us about Truecaller for a while now, and it’s obvious that we should have listened:

More than 250-million people around the world are using Truecaller, and the app already identifies more than 8.5-million spam calls per month in South Africa.

…spam SMS account for 15% of all SMSs sent globally – a total of 1.2-trillion spam messages each year.

It’s not just the spam SMSs that you can bid farewell to, either. With the Truecaller app, you can:

• see caller IDs – know who’s calling you even if you don’t have their number in your phonebook;
• block calls and SMSs – block and report spam callers and messages so other users can avoid them too;
• use flash messaging – avoid calling or writing a full text message like “I am on my way” or sharing your location;
• look up numbers and names – search for any number, local or across the world, to see who it belongs to; and
• ask to call back – a notification is sent to the receiver informing them to call back the number or person.

That looking up numbers and names could be a pretty handy tool.

Anyway, use it, don’t use it – just a little heads up for all those who are tired of the spam.

You can get the Android version HERE and the iOS version HERE.

PS When I mentioned this story Seth burst into song – “I see your true caller, and that’s why I love you”.

He’s a father now, so I guess he can make those kinda jokes.

[source:timeslive]